More homes on the market in the Basin
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 weeks, 1 day AGO
This home in Moses Lake was listed for $371,500, according to the real estate website Zillow. The median home price in Grant County was $414,425 in July.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | August 7, 2026 1:45 AM
MOSES LAKE — People hoping to buy a home in July had a better selection available to them than a year ago, according to data released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which tracks real estate trends in 27 of Washington’s 39 counties.
Active listings across Washington increased by almost 20 percent in July 2026 over July 2025, according to the NWMLS data and new listings increased 10.5 percent. In Grant County, active listings were up 6 percent, but new listings were down 26.77%. Adams County showed lower numbers in both areas, with new listings down 44.4% and total active listings down 15.5%.
Between June 2026 and July 2026, active listings rose 17.24% in Grant County. Adams County had 10 active listings in July and nine in June.
The median home price in Grant County was $414,425 in July 2026, an increase of 1.3% year-over-year. In Adams County, the median price was $375,000, compared to $349,999 a year ago. The statewide median was $640,000, a decrease of 1.5% from July 2025.
Washington’s full home inventory would take 3.4 months to sell in July 2026, according to the NWMLS data. That represents a 23.7% increase from 2025 and an increase of 112.5% from the same time in 2023. A healthy market is considered to have 4-6 months of inventory, according to the NWMLS. Grant County had 5.8 months of inventory in July 2026, up from 4.3 in 2025. Adams County’s figure was 7.0 in 2026 compared to 8.3 in 2025.
The average 30-year fixed-mortgage interest rate was 6.66% Wednesday, up from 6.58% a week ago but a decrease from 6.72% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac.
“Interest rates, which averaged over 6.5% during the month (slightly higher than the previous month), continued to discourage buyers,” Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, wrote in the NWMLS release. “The Federal Reserve Bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept short-term interest rates unchanged when they met late in the month due to the ongoing pressures of high inflation stemming from the continuing war with Iran. Expectations are that the FOMC will increase short-term rates later this year and early next year, implying that longer-term rates are also likely to go up.”
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.